Hi there, Debra! You're as welcome as can be here at planDisney!
In my opinion, one of the best
benefits of staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection Hotel is
early theme park entry. Guests staying at Disney Resorts Collection Hotels and other select hotels are able to enter the theme parks each day 30 minutes ahead of the regularly scheduled opening time. You can really get quite a bit accomplished early in the mornings when you take advantage of this head start for accessing
attractions.
Sometimes, Cast Members will be stationed outside of the theme park entrance to scan your
MagicBand or key card to determine if you are staying at a participating early entry hotel. In this case, they will likely direct you to certain park entry gates that will open earlier, while other Guests will be held at the other entry points. Other times, all Guests with valid
theme park admission and
park reservations will be permitted to begin entering the park gates at the same time. In these instances, Cast Members will be stationed at the walkways heading toward various attractions. They will stop Guests at these checkpoints to scan MagicBands or key cards, and only Guests of early entry hotels will be permitted to continue past that point. All other Guests will need to remain in the park entrance area until the regular opening time.
In either scenario, Guests often begin lining up at the theme park gates well before the early entry time. I like to try to arrive at the theme park entrance about 30 minutes before early entry. This gives me the best chance of maximizing the magic during my extra time in the park.
In my experience, early theme park entry typically runs quite smoothly. There is usually signage pointing resort hotel Guests in the right direction. Also, there will be plenty of friendly Cast Members helping Guests find their way. If you're ever not sure where to go, simply ask a Cast Member. They will point you in the right direction.
Debra, if you have any other questions while you're getting ready for your vacation, please don't hesitate to ask. We're all ears! See ya real soon!
Samantha